Electrike Line/RSE
Electrike is found on Route 110 and Route 118 in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald. Manectric can also be found in all games on Route 118. Arguably the most popular Electric-type in all Hoenn Nuzlockes, both for availability reasons and usefulness reasons. The Electric-type itself is ever popular amongst Nuzlockers, due to its usefulness against the ever-present Water-types - especially in the 7.8/10 Too Much Water region - and having only one, relatively uncommon weakness: Ground. The Electrike line surely lives up to the general reputation Electric-types have: fast and hard-hitting, but fairly frail on both ends of the spectrum (physical and special). It will, however, be a minor issue for whomever uses Manectric for the purpose it was born: frying your enemies before they can fight back. Important Matchups *'Gym #3 - Wattson (Mauville City, Electric-type): '''Not a good matchup. All of his Pokémon resist Electric moves (duh), and Quick Attack will simply not do enough damage against anyone, much less Magnemite and/or Magneton, depending on the version you're playing. Voltorb carries Selfdestruct, which is deadly for the frail defenses of Electrike, and the magnets carry SonicBoom, which will make a serious dent in your already low health before you can manage to do anything great. If you are willing to train it up to Manectric level before the fight, however, you can easily mirror Wattson's Manectric in Emerald, which is otherwise a very deadly Pokémon for anything besides Ground-types. *'Rival (Route 110): In '''Ruby and Sapphire, unless you train all the way up to Spark level, making Electrike any useful in this fight is going to be hard. Assuming Spark, Wailmer will be easy as pie, and its Rollout will no longer be an issue for any other team member. Shroomish resists your STAB and has Mega Drain, though, so it's better handled by another team member. Numel doesn't have Ground moves, so it's theoretically manageable, but the Quick Attack damage won't be significant and it might become a stall war. Your rival's starter, no matter what you picked, is better off handled by someone else; Grovyle will be faster and slice your poor electric quadruped in half with Leaf Blade, Marshtomp will laugh in its sorry face, and Combusken will probably tank a Spark and retaliate back with Double Kick. Avoid like the plague. In Emerald, Lombre and Wingull (lol) won't pose a problem for a Spark-carrying Electrike, but Slugma will probably deal a bit of damage before you can take it down. As far as the starter goes, refer to the comments already made for Ruby and Sapphire. *'Maxie/Archie (Mt. Chimney): '''Two Sparks should be enough to deal with Mightyena, which otherwise can't deal a lot of damage to Manectric (assuming the evolution already happened; it should, before you head for this fight). Golbat will go down in one hit without a problem, and so will Archie's Sharpedo, but watch out if you have a low Speed stat, for example due to a -Spd nature: it might outspeed you, and it has Crunch. Camerupt is an absolute no for obvious reasons: Magnitude. That's all you need to know. *'Gym #4 - Flannery (Lavaridge Town, Fire-type): Her Slugma should fall to one Spark, but watch out regardless, as all of her Pokémon have Overheat in all three games; it won't be fun to tank, even for an evolved Pokémon. For Numel and Camerupt, see the Mt. Chimney comment: avoid. Torkoal is incredibly bulky, and its Overheat will send basically anything's HP bar dropping down to zero barring absurd SpDef or resistance, so Manectric is probably not the best choice for this gym. However, if you have a male, you can exploit the first turn to use Thunder Wave against it, because she generally opens with Attract. It IS a dangerous gamble, though, as it could potentially also set up Sunny Day or just Overheat outright. *'''Gym #5 - Norman (Petalburg City, Normal-type): '''The Slakings have incredible bulk and even more attacking power, which poses a serious threat to Manectric's frailty. Using a Manectric here is risky - you can use Thunderbolt to get around Slaking's Counter, but you still risk receiving a punch after failing to OHKO. Thunder Wave is a dangerous gamble - you can cripple it and increase your chances of it not attacking, but paralysis doubles the power of Facade. You'd have to be miraculously lucky for it to not destroy you. Better avoid. However, his Vigoroth is much less of a problem in all games. In '''Emerald he also has Spinda and Linoone, which can be both handled by Manectric without an issue; refrain from using it against Linoone if you are underlevelled and without Thunderbolt, though, because it has Belly Drum and it might become a problem for the whole team if you let it set up against you. *'Rival (Route 119): '''In '''Ruby and Sapphire' your rival will still have Wailmer, Shroomish and Numel. Similar comments to those already made for the Route 110 fight still hold, but Numel has Magnitude now, so it's best handled by another Pokémon. Combusken's Double Kick is also a lot less scary than it used to be, but be aware that it has Bulk Up now, so it will hurt quite a lot if you let it set up on you. Avoid Grovyle and Marshtomp, as they will still hurt you more than you can hurt them. In Emerald, similar observations hold, as your unused character has Slugma, Lombre and Pelipper. *'Gym #6 - Winona (Fortree City, Flying-type): '''This is one of the places in Hoenn where Manectric truly shines. In all three games, her Altaria - which is carrying Earthquake - is the only Pokémon that you DON'T want to fight with an Electric-type, and Manectric is the best Electric-type for this job. Even Spark will send her birds flying (and frying). The only note is that, in '''Emerald', her Tropius has a Sunny Day + Solarbeam combo, so you obviously won't want to run a Rain Dance set against it, or use Thunder. Electric still hits it neutrally, though, so you can go for it if you have Thunderbolt (and again, you should have it by now). *'Rival (Lilycove City): '''In '''Ruby and Sapphire', her/his lead is a Swellow, which is perfect for a Manectric. Wailmer is also an easy fight. Shroomish can be defeated almost as easily, although it will be bothersome if you don't have Bite yet, or if you have it but you just so happen to trigger Effect Spore, because Murphy's law is strong within you. In Emerald the lead is a Tropius, which should go down easily enough despite the bulk, as it doesn't have powerful attacks. Pelipper and Slugma also will. Ludicolo can take some time to wear down, but its best attack is Swift (induced by Nature Power), so you don't have to worry much about it. In all three games, the same observations we already went over many times hold for the starters: Combusken is okay, Grovyle and Marshtomp are a nope. *'Gym #7 - Tate and Liza (Mossdeep City, Psychic-type): '''In '''Ruby and Sapphire' Manectric can prove useful against them, thanks to Bite; however, it will be a pain to lessen their health if you let Lunatone set up Light Screen, so be sure to target it first. Don't worry about Solrock's Sunny Day + Flamethrower + Solarbeam, its Special Attack is shitty anyway. You could also opt for the paraflinch tactic, if you have a good supporting Pokémon to back up Manectric; Lunatone and Solrock are manageable even with Manectric's not-so-great bulk. However, in Emerald, leading with Manectric is absolutely discouraged: their Claydol has Earthquake, and Manectric simply won't live it. Ever. You can consider bringing Manectric in after Claydol is gone, as it can be one of the best possible assets to take down the Xatu, which is extremely dangerous if it sets up enough Calm Minds. The path should be clear after those two are gone, as Lunatone and Solrock are exactly as they were in Ruby and Sapphire. *'Maxie and Tabitha (Mossdeep Space Center, Emerald only, Tag Battle with Steven): '''Useful against the Mightyena and the bats, if not for the obvious Camerupt switch-in. If you can safely let Manectric GTFO of the battle as soon as a Camerupt appears (example: you have a Pelipper in your team), then Manectric can help greatly against Crobat, which will otherwise probably outspeed anything you have and use Confuse Ray until you rip your hair out into oblivion. Thunderbolt, once again, is the best choice. Don't waste time trying to paralyze them. And once again: GTFO of the field as soon as you see a Camerupt. Seriously, just do. *'Maxie (Seafloor Cavern in Ruby, Jagged Pass Magma Hideout in Emerald): Once again, we have Mightyena and Crobat, both of which are easily dealt with. However, watch out for Mightyena's Swagger: Manectric has decent Attack, and it can be VERY risky to not switch it out if confused after the Attack boost (or use the Yellow Flute you should have obtained). Just like before, as soon as you see a Camerupt, or even just the shade of a Camerupt, use Run Away like there's no tomorrow. *'Archie (Seafloor Cavern, Sapphire and Emerald only): '''Exact same comments as the Maxie battle, except that his third Pokémon is a Sharpedo, which Manectric can defeat without trouble. Again, be aware that -Spd natures can mean you will be outsped, and it's a bit risky against a Sharpedo with Crunch. However, with a normal or boosted Speed, you will be fine. *'Gym #8 - Juan/Wallace (Sootopolis City, Water-type): The only substantial difference between the teams is with the last Pokémon: a Milotic in Wallace's case, and a Kingdra in Juan's. Wallace also uses Seaking instead of Crawdaunt, which Juan has, but from a Manectric's point of view there isn't much of a difference, as it can easily sweep Luvdisc, Sealeo, and Seaking/Crawdaunt in one single move. I don't need to tell you what move it is, do I? Just pay attention to Seaking, because it has Horn Drill. However, the move will not have any effect on you if you are above its level (42). Milotic is really tough to fight, though. You can resort to Thunder Wave, but it will double its Defense due to Marvel Scale, so watch out. You may need a PP healer if you're relatively low levelled and/or only have Thunder, because Milotic has Recover. Kingdra is less bulky, but it takes neutral damage from Electric moves and it has Double Team; for this fight, it could be really useful to keep Shock Wave, even if it's just on a temporary basis (or no sell Juan's silly tactics with an X Accuracy. Or two. Or up to six). Oh, and his last Pokémon (in both cases) is Whiscash, which has Earthquake; you will obviously NOT let Manectric fight that thing. *'Wally (Victory Road): '''His lead is a Dragon Dance Altaria... whose only physical move is Aerial Ace. Don't waste your time paralyzing it, though, due to Safeguard and Natural Cure. His Delcatty should also easily fall to Thunderbolt, but Roselia can be more sturdy; you can play the paraflinch game with it, if Altaria hasn't used Safeguard or it has already worn off. Magneton can't do much damage, but it still packs Thunderbolt with a great SpAtk, and you don't have moves that it doesn't resist, so it's best to let another Pokémon handle this fight, unless you taught Manectric Dig for whatever reason. Gardevoir is weak to Bite, but you probably want a physical sweeper dealing with it, as Calm Mind will quickly reduce the amount of damage you do to it and Future Sight can hit really hard if paired with Psychic on the same turn. *'Elite Four #1 - Sidney (Ever Grande City, Dark-type): All of his Pokémon are relatively fragile, so you should be able to Thunderbolt the non-Grass-types into oblivion with one turn. Even if you don't, don't worry about it: it's unlikely they will be able to OHKO you. Cacturne and Shiftry aren't a big problem either, but fighting them can be tedious and painful with Manectric, whereas any Bug, Fire or Fighting-type laughs in their face. Use those. (No, Manectric doesn't learn Flamethrower in this generation, even though we all wish it did.) *'Elite Four #2 - Phoebe (Ever Grande City, Ghost-type): '''Her Banette and Sableye have similar bulk to Sidney's Pokémon, so they should also fall easily to Thunderbolt. Or, you could just use Bite for the Banette, that's fine too. The first Dusclops isn't very threatening, just annoying thanks to Confuse Ray, but with paraflinching you could take care of it easily as well, so long as you don't mind losing a ton of PP due to Pressure. Avoid the last Dusclops, however: it packs Earthquake. Despite Dusclops' relatively low Attack, it's still a threat. *'Elite Four #3 - Glacia (Ever Grande City, Ice-type): 'The marine lions stand absolutely no chance against Manectric. Keep in mind, though, that she leads with Glalie in Ruby and Sapphire, but Sealeo in Emerald; this might make you not want to lead with Manectric in the first two games, as the first Glalie has Light Screen and could wear down your possibly already low supply of Thunderbolt PPs further. If you've stocked up plenty of PP restorers and have Potions, however, you will be fine. Avoid the second Glalie in Emerald (the level 52 one), as it packs Explosion, especially if you couldn't OHKO the first with a non-critical Thunderbolt. *'Elite Four #4 - Drake (Ever Grande City, Dragon-type): 'Oddly better manageable in Emerald than not. His Flygon(s) are an absolute NO for Manectric, and Shelgon resists Electric STAB, so it's better if you let another Pokémon take over, unless you have absolutely no other options (for Shelgon, because if you don't have other options for Flygon you'll be damned). Altaria and Salamence are both more feasible in the original game pair than in Emerald, due to, respectively, having only Take Down and Fly as their physical moves; in Emerald, they have Double-Edge and Rock Slide. Keep in mind that Altaria also has Dragon Dance and very good special bulk. If you have an Ice-type move, you know what to do. If you really want to use Manectric, go for Thunderbolt like there is no tomorrow, and be sure to replenish your PP earlier because the fight will take quite a lot out of you. In Emerald, Drake has Kingdra (replacing one of his Flygons), which has Smokescreen as well. Again, Shock Wave could be a viable option for this fight, but you should hope to defeat it as soon as possible with Thunderbolt regardless, as Shock Wave will do an underwhelming amount of damage and let it set up more Dragon Dances than it should. *'Steven - Ruby/Sapphire Champion Battle (Ever Grande City, Steel-type): 'His lead, a Skarmory, will be a piece of cake for Manectric's Thunderbolt; the others, however, not so much. If you're running Iron Tail, you could tackle Cradily and Armaldo too, as they both lack Ground moves. Don't expect it to do a lot of damage, however, as Manectric's Attack is not stellar. You might pull off a 2HKO if you're either considerably higher levelled, or get the Defense drop. Aggron, Claydol and Metagross all pack Earthquake, so you should never let Manectric come any closer to them as needed as to switch it out as soon as they appear on the battlefield. *'Wallace - Emerald Champion Battle (Ever Grande City, Water-type): 'The one reason why you should never cross Emerald Hoenn without an Electric-type. Wailord and Gyarados will fall to Thunderbolt very easily. Tentacruel and Milotic possess amazing special bulk, but you can wear them down slowly; however, you will probably need to heal-stall, as they both have Toxic as well as carrying powerful attacks (Hydro Pump for Tentacruel, Surf for Milotic). Milotic also has Recover, which will make the fight even more annoying; at least you won't need to worry about Mirror Coat. The most bothersome of all, however, is his Ludicolo: Double Team, Leech Seed and Giga Drain are a TERRIBLE combo to fight against. Once again, if you didn't ditch Shock Wave earlier, you will find it useful here if it manages to set up against you. Manectric also has low HP, meaning the Leech Seed recovery won't be grand, but it will also deal more damage with Giga Drain. His last Pokémon is a Whiscash, and we already went over that plenty of times. In short: a fight with very good matchups for Manectric, but you will still need patience to win it. If it's any comfort, there is absolutely no Pokémon better than Manectric for this fight: unlike Grass-types, it isn't weak to Ice Beam and Gyarados will never tank one of its hits. *'Post-Game: We're Nuzlockers. Who freaking cares. Moves When found on Route 110, Electrike starts with Tackle, Thunder Wave, Leer and Howl. It then gets Quick Attack '''at level 17. The first few levels of grinding will probably be tedious, as it won't do a lot of damage with Normal moves; however, it will get better as soon as it hits level 20, when it will learn '''Spark. A base-65 power STAB move like that goes a LONG way in Hoenn; it will be everything you need until you can get the Thunderbolt TM, which is a move that Electrike sadly doesn't learn by level. Most of its other moves are forgettable until the later levels: there is the absolutely unnecessary Odor Sleuth '''at level 25 (why, Gamefreak?), then the long awaited evolution, and the next move comes at level 31 in the form of... '''Roar. Which, very obviously, you will never need due to its decreased priority - if you are ever leading with Manectric and are facing an opponent that you know it can't handle, it goes without saying that you should just switch, as it's not a bulky Pokémon and unlikely to tank a strong hit as such. Level 39 offers another mildly useful move, Bite, which can be combined with Thunder Wave for some paraflinch hax; an opponent that is paralyzed during the turn Manectric uses Bite has a 65% chance of not being able to attack in that turn. However, paraflinch techniques are not recommended, due to being based off pure luck. Keep in mind that a super-effective Bite is still less powerful than STAB Thunderbolt, too, which at this point you should be able to get (after doing the New Mauville sidequest). At level 45 comes Thunder, a plausible addition to the moveset if you, too, like to live dangerously, but otherwise not recommended unless you're running a Rain Dance set; 70% accuracy is simply not enough. Lastly, at level 53, it learns Charge, which you should ABSOLUTELY NOT LEARN because, in this generation, it only doubles the base damage done by the Electric move used next turn, without boosting your SpDef. Honestly, you can get a better damage output by using the same move twice, instead of Charging and then using it on the second turn. The TM pool is relatively limited, but contains most of what a Manectric will need. Thunderbolt is a mandatory move, especially if you're not running a Rain Dance set; the latter, however, is still a viable option with Thunder, but be sure to set up against an enemy you can tank a hit from, and there aren't many enemies like that for a Manectric. Return and Iron Tail can work as slot fillers, if your Manectric happens to have decent Attack. Toxic is also an option if you have a tanky one, or otherwise want a poison user in your team; keep in mind, however, that Manectric will probably not live long enough to Toxic-stall. Hidden Power is also worth a try with the Rain Dance set: you might just be lucky enough to draw Water. Recommended movesets: General purpose: '''Thunder Wave, Bite, Thunderbolt, Quick Attack/Return/Iron Tail ''Rain Dance: Thunder Wave, Rain Dance, Thunder, Quick Attack/Return/Iron Tail/Thunderbolt/Hidden Power Water if you're enough of a lucky duck to have it of the right type'' Other Electrike's base stats: Manectric's base stats: *'What Nature do I want? '''Modest is the best possible outcome for this line, but any other +SpAtk nature isn't something you should complain about. Mild, Rash, even Quiet - they all work. On occasion, they might actually be better than Modest as Manectric has fairly decent Attack, and could carry a physical move as well; Quiet has the privilege of not nerfing the already fairly frail defenses further, but at the expense of risking to not be able to outspeed some of the fastest foes on occasion. *'How good is the Electrike line in a Nuzlocke? 'Very good for its purpose, but don't expect it to be an all-around problem solver. It does its job of being an Electric-type really well, and it may help against Psychics if you have no other options, thanks to Bite; however, it won't do much against Pokémon that are specially bulky, or - clearly - Ground-types. *'Weaknesses: Ground *'Resistances:' Electric, Flying, Steel *'Immunities:' None *'Neutralities:' Normal, Fire, Water, Grass, Bug, Ice, Ghost, Psychic, Fighting, Dragon, Dark, Rock, Poison Category:Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald Category:List of Evolutionary Lines with Completed Analyses Category:Electric-Type